Two Halves
by kt2785
Summary: Set immediately after 6x14. Skate. Oneshot. Please R


Kate was laying down, as per Jack's request. She needed her rest. Her shoulder was killing her. She felt sick to her stomach. She wouldn't get the proper medical care here. Jack didn't have any supplies, just a ratty t-shirt which was already soaked through with her blood and the salt water. Salt was getting into the wound, and it hurt. This must have been what it was like for Sawyer…except Sawyer had to dig the bullet out with his bare hands. Jack said there was an exit wound so he thinks the bullet went straight through. She didn't know what was worse. She rolled over onto her good shoulder and looked at Sawyer. He was still unconscious but she could see his chest rising and falling. Hurley was sitting on the other side of him. He didn't know that Kate was still awake. He was looking at Sawyer and talking softly.

"Dude, just open your eyes," he said. "I know you can hear me dude. Just wake up and give me some stupid nickname about my weight. Do it. Kate's sleeping right next to you…she wants you to wake up."

"How's he doing?" Kate whispered and smiled at Hurley.

"I don't know," he said. "I told him-never mind…I don't think he's waking up anytime soon."

"We have to get Jack," she stated. "Where'd he go?"

"He's right over there," Hurley answered. He pointed at where Jack was sitting, sifting through the sand and throwing rocks into the ocean. Kate rolled over and Jack looked toward them. He got up and walked toward her. Hurley got up too and left them alone.

"You're gonna be ok Kate," Jack said. "I'm not going to let anything else bad happen."

"I know," she whispered.

"Your shoulder?" he asked. "It hurts?"

"No," she said slightly sarcastically. "You don't by any chance have anything-"

"Nope, Ben flushed em," he said with a smile. She couldn't help but smile back.

"Is he going to be ok?" she asked.

"Well, he's breathing-" Jack began.

"Jack, the trauma is over," she whispered. "Well, mostly."

She started sitting up. Jack started to try to stop her, but she put her hand up and nodded that she was ok. She sat up and looked down at Sawyer.

"Don't lie to me Jack," she started. "How bad is this? I mean he's been knocked out for hours. The sun is coming up. Look, I know this is bad…just tell me how bad. Tell me if Sawyer is going to live."

"I'm gonna go see if I can get you any meds. Maybe some fresh gauze or a different shirt."

"First, check on Sawyer," she demanded. "He's been sleeping-"

"Ok," he said softly. "I will. I'll do as many vitals as I can, but since he's unconscious I don't know how easy it will be."

"Thanks for being honest," she said partially grateful, but partially sarcastically. She watched as Jack checked Sawyer's pulse.

"I need a flashlight," he whispered. "I need other materials in order to do this Kate."

"Ok," she replied. "Then let's go."

"Go where Kate?" he asked.

"Into the jungle…maybe the Dharma camp has some stuff left over…or maybe we should just go back to the temple, and they can tell us what to do."

"You really think I'm gonna let you come with me while you're shoulder is-"

"You really think I'm gonna let you tell me what to do?" she interrupted and smiled.

"Kate you can't-" Jack began. "You're hurt, what if something happens?"

"What if something happens, and you're not here to take care of me?" she asked.

"You know who you sound like?" Jack asked.

"No," she shook her head.

"Him," Jack replied, without needing further explanation, Kate looked down at Sawyer. Sawyer groaned softly and let out a breath. Kate knelt down and looked at him.

"Sawyer," she whispered. "James."

His eyes fluttered opened. Kate ran her hand over his forehead.

"Freckles?" he said softly.

"Yeah," she whispered. "You're ok."

He moaned and rolled over. "Where is everybody?" he asked. "Jin…Sun."

"They're-" Kate began, but then stopped. Sawyer closed his eyes and put his hands against his face. He sat up and put his elbows on his knees. He looked at her and noticed her shoulder.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly. He was staring at her bloody shoulder. She put her hand against it and nodded.

"I'm alright," she whispered. "I'm going into the jungle with Jack to get supplies."

"I'm coming with you," he answered.

"No," she shook her head. He started getting up, but then sat back down.

"I'm a little dizzy," he said.

"Jack said you probably have a concussion," she replied. "Probably shouldn't be gallivanting into the jungle."

"What about you?!" he exclaimed. "You were shot! And you're gonna tell me you're "just fine"…highly doubt it. If I have to stay then so do you."

Kate looked up and chuckled, but saw that Jack was gone. "Hurley!" she exclaimed. "Hurley, where's Jack?!"

"I saw him walking into the jungle a couple minutes ago," Hurley answered.

"Son of a bitch," Kate murmured.

"I needed someone to keep me company anyway," Sawyer smirked. Kate smiled too and laughed softly, but then groaned and put her hand against her shoulder.

"God, this sucks. I didn't know…I mean I knew that getting shot hurts, but…I had no idea it-felt like this. It hurts. I feel like I'm gonna pass out."

"Kate," Sawyer said softly. "Don't pass out on me. If something happens to you, Jack will never forgive me. Keep yourself awake."

"James, I'm fine," she said. "It just hurts. That's what I mean. You know what it feels like."

"Yeah, and I kind of remember almost dying because of it," he replied.

"Only because the bullet was stuck in your shoulder and you dug it out and then it got infected," she told him. "My shoulder is gonna be just fine. I'm just gonna have Jack clean it out and then I'll be fine."

"We're closer to the Dharma village this time, instead of when we were at the beach camp," he said. "Jack should be back in a couple hours."

She laid down and looked up at the moon. It was a half moon. It still gave off a light. She remembered looking at the moon with Aaron. It was never this big or brilliant in L.A. Sawyer laid down next to her and put his arms behind his head. He looked over at Kate and sighed softly.

"When we were in the cages," he murmured. "I'd look up at the sky just trying to think of ways to get out of there. To save us."

"I used to watch the stars with Aaron," he told him. "We would name the constellations. It reminded me of being here on the island."

"God, I'm so sorry. Sun, Jin, Sayid," he said. "Jack was right…I should have trusted him."

"Or maybe he was wrong," she whispered. "Maybe the bomb would have gone off anyway."

"You were hurt," he sighed. "I never meant for you to get hurt Kate."

"Hey," she whispered. "I know. I know you didn't mean any of it. Sawyer, it's not-that bomb was not because of you…it was because of Locke…or that damn smoke whatever it was."

"I just wanted to get us off the island. That was Jack's goal all those years ago," he said.

"So you're saying you want to be like Jack?" she asked.

"Well, no," he shook his head. "Not really. I just…I never meant for you to get hurt. It's all my fault. If we hadn't been there…if I hadn't started to trust him- I just wanted to keep you safe. And I couldn't."

"Why?" she asked.

"Why what?" he whispered.

"Why did you care about keeping me safe?" she asked.

"Because I care about what happens to you," he said. "It matters to me."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" he asked. "I didn't do anything."

"It's just been a while since I've felt like it matters," she whispered. "I mean…I felt like I had a purpose while I was raising Aaron, but it wasn't real."

"Kate," he whispered. "I'm sure you mattered to Aaron. Without you…Aaron would have-"

"Been with his real family," she interrupted.

"Kate," he shook his head. "Don't do that to yourself. If you won't let me blame myself for Sun and Jin, then I won't let you…Aaron needed you."

"I needed him," she answered. "I needed him when you left me."

"Freckles," he began. "I didn't jump to get away from you."

"I know," she nodded. "It's part of what I meant by you always protecting me…saving my ass."

"Well, that was what I was goin' for Freckles," he half chuckled and looked toward her bottom. She let out a soft breath and smiled.

"I missed you," he replied.

"I missed you too," she told him. "You don't know how much-"

Before she could finish her sentence he leaned forward and kissed her lips. They both deepened the kiss. Sawyer ran his hand down her shoulder and she yelped. He backed away and looked at her apologetically.

"It's ok," she whispered without him having to say anything. He shook his head and closed his eyes. She leaned forward and kissed him again. He looked down and let out a soft breath.

"I failed her," he said.

"You did not," she stated softly. She put her hand against his cheek. "Sawyer, you tried. I saw you holding on to her hand. You tried. You can't blame yourself."

"I-" he began and started shaking his head, but at the same time, he moved toward Kate's touch. She sighed softly. Neither of them were moving.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked.

"Fine," she murmured. "Hurts."

She sat up and took the bloody shirt away from her shoulder. She winced and closed her eyes hard. He put his hand on her other shoulder to steady her. He could see tears coming into her eyes.

"Hey…don't," he whispered.

"I want to look at it," she said. "I want to see how bad it is."

He helped her push the shirt over the wound without touching the wound. He winced with her, trying hard not to hurt her. It was a small half moon shape. She looked down at it and winced again.

"Gross," she whispered. "I hope Jack hurries up."

"He'll be back soon Freckles," he answered. "Don't you go worrying about Jack."

"I'm glad you're ok James," she said.

"Back at-cha Freckles," he replied. "And hey…once that scabs over and turns into a scar, we'll be matching."

He moved his shirt over his shoulder and she saw the small half moon scar left from where he was shot 3 years ago.

"Seems like a lifetime ago," she whispered.

"It was," he murmured. She leaned forward and they were almost kissing when they heard Hurley greeting Jack. She turned her head. Jack came toward the pair of them and set down his backpack.

"I found some supplies," he told them. He unzipped the back and handed Sawyer the bottle of aspirin. He handed each of them a bottle of water. Both Kate and Sawyer took the pills. Then Jack handed Sawyer a bottle of scotch.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"Well, it's for Kate," Jack answered. "I'm gonna patch her up and it's gonna hurt."

"Y'know doc, I think most of the houses probably had rubbing alcohol," he replied.

"It's not for the wound," he said.

Kate looked between Sawyer and Jack as they spoke. She looked down at the bottle, but didn't pick it up.

"You found gauze?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Are you gonna fix me all up?" she smirked.

"I'll get gone," Sawyer answered. Kate nodded and watched Sawyer leave with Hurley.

She looked at him and then looked at the bottle of scotch. She picked it up quickly and looked at Jack.

"Ok," she sighed. "Go…do it."

She took a swig of the scotch and made a face. Kate's shoulder was dripping blood since she removed the makeshift bandage. She groaned and looked down at the red mark on her own t-shirt. He looked at her and she flushed slightly. She put the bottle down and started taking her shirt off.

"Kate-" he began.

"Jack," she interrupted. "It's nothing you haven't seen and you have to bandage my shoulder somehow."

She took her shirt off. Jack looked away slightly embarrassed, but then got to work. Her bra was red with blood too. Kate took another swig from the scotch bottle and he poured rubbing alcohol over the wound. She screamed and he moved quickly. He bandaged her arm as quickly as he could and then squeezed her hand. She was sobbing, but not hard. He looked at her and then dug in to the backpack. He pulled out a clean shirt and handed it to her. She put it on carefully and let out another groan. He squeezed her hand and shook his head.

"You ok?" he asked. She bit her lip and nodded. She put her hand against her shoulder again and shook her head.

"Hmm," she whispered. "I'm ok."

"I found something," he murmured.

"What?" she asked.

"Well, I sort of…the house I went into happened to be Sawyer and Juliet's," he answered. "I found this on the bed. I thought maybe Sawyer would want it."

He pulled a box out of the backpack. It was the box Sawyer had been holding when she walked in on him, sitting on the bed. She took the box from Jack and opened it slowly. Part of her knew that she shouldn't because it was Sawyer's, but she opened it. She saw a picture sitting on the top. Juliet and Sawyer in their regular street clothes. Kate smiled weakly. They looked happy. She closed the box and looked at Jack.

"Here," she whispered. "You give it to him."

"He'd want you to give it to him," Jack told her. Kate nodded and Jack got up and walked away.

A few minutes later Sawyer walked back toward her and sat down. He looked at her and then saw the box.

"Where the hell did you get that?" he asked.

"Jack," she said. "He ended up going into your house…he found it. He thought you'd want it."

"Well he was wrong," he answered. "I don't want it. I just really want to forget everything. I don't want to think about her."

"You will always think about her James," she said. "Trust me. You won't forget the love of your life."

"What if I said she wasn't the love of my life," he mumbled.

"I know I shouldn't say anything right now," she whispered and shook slightly. "But I want to say something before it's too late. I mean…after everything that has happened, I don't know if we're getting out of this alive."

"We are," he told her. "We're gonna be alive Kate. Tell me on the rescue plane."

"Anyway…just in case," she whispered. "I never stopped thinking about you James. I love you, I love you so much."

"Freckles," he shook his head. "I'll tell you on the rescue plane."

She smiled weakly and looked back at the ocean. Sawyer got up and walked back down the beach away from her.

**4 Years 8 Months 15 Days Later**

He was sitting outside staring at the night sky. There was a huge full moon in the sky. He saw what he thought was a shooting star, but then realized it was just a passing plane. He didn't bother waving it down…those days were past him. He didn't need to be rescued. It wouldn't see him anyway.

"James," she came out of the house and wrapped her arms around her body. "What are you doing?"

"Just looking at the stars," he murmured. She sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him. He put one arm around her and pulled her closer.

"The moon is spectacular," she said.

"Should we go wake up Juliet?" he asked.

"Um, no," she shook her head. "This moment is just for us."

She looked at him and kissed him gently.

"I love you too Freckles," he whispered. "But she wouldn't want to miss this."

"I just got her to stay in her room," she replied. "No…we're not waking her up so she can see the moon. She'll see it tomorrow night. It'll still be there."

"So you're lookin' kinda hot in this nightgown Freckles," he said.

"It's a nightgown," she chuckled. He moved the strap down her shoulder and kissed her neck and shoulder gently. His beard scratched her and she chuckled softly. He ran his finger tips over the pink scar on her shoulder. She leaned forward and kissed him softly. They both stood up and went into the house together.

They walked down the hall. Kate felt comfortable in her house she shared with Sawyer. It wasn't a magnificent beautiful house on the outside…but it was a warm home on the inside. Kate heard movement coming from the bedroom. Sawyer opened the door and they found their 2 year old daughter trying to climb out of the crib.

"Juliet!" Sawyer exclaimed. She hung on to the bars of the crib with both her hands and feet. She looked back and smiled widely.

"Hi daddy," she said.

"Come here little monkey," he chuckled. He picked her up and hugged her.

"I come out," she replied.

"No honey," Kate shook her head. "It's bedtime."

"No!" she whined. "Wanna stay up."

"Juliet," Sawyer started. "It's way past your bedtime."

He put her down in the crib and she sat down and frowned.

"Lay down," he said gently. She did as she was told and then Kate and Sawyer left the room together.

"She's just like her mother," Sawyer stated. "She always wants to escape."

"Hey, I grew out of that," she answered.

As they walked into their bedroom and started getting ready for bed they continued to talk.

"Yeah, when you were 30," he replied.

"No, when I met you," she said.

"As I recall, even after you met me you continued to run," he reminded her. "And you still have trouble with it…You'll always have the urge to run."

She smirked and shoved him gently.

"You con, I run," she stated. She kissed him softly. "But I don't run anymore James…I have nothing to run away from anymore."

"And when's the last time I pulled a con?" he asked.

"2 weeks ago," she answered.

"That doesn't count, it was your birthday," he argued. "It wasn't a con, it was a birthday surprise."

"And I thank you," she smiled. "Did you ever think we'd be here?"

"You mean still stuck on this island?" he asked.

"Well partly," she nodded. "Stuck on this island. Living alone-"

"We're not alone Freckles, we have each other and Juliet," he reminded her.

"When they said that you were meant to protect the island I thought they were crazy," she shook her head.

"Well, when they said I had to do it alone, I said they were crazy," he answered.

"Is that the only reason you married me?" she asked. "So we'd have the same last name and I wouldn't have to leave?"

"Well, what can I say," he shrugged. "I don't like being alone."

"You won't ever have to be alone James," she whispered. She ran her hands down his bare arms. They both sat down on the bed.

"Good to hear it Freckles," he smiled. He leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. "I'm sorry I lied."

"Lied about what?" she asked pulling him closer and dancing slightly.

"Lied about leaving the island," he whispered. "Telling you how I felt when we were on the rescue plane."

"It doesn't matter," she shook her head. "We belong here James. The Ford's protecting the island together. You're mine…and I'm yours James, forever."

She touched the small half moon scar on his shoulder.

"We're a matching pair James," she whispered. "Two halves."

She touched her own scar. He smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her.

**The End**

**A/N: Ok…I know the two halves thing was a tad cheesy at the end, hah. I just thought of this on Tuesday. Wow. This show is crazy. Anyway please review. Love ya. **


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